..... and other stories

Farm Fresh Apples

2011-11-20T21:52:00.000-08:00

We all got to go to out to the farm a couple weeks ago. We had a nice time visiting Joanne and then we picked some apples and pears to take home to make delicious things out of them. At least at our house there has been a lot of apple butter, applesauce and even an apple crisp that has come from those apples. Its been fun. These kiddos also did a great job at helping retrieve some fruits too. They are mighty good farm hands.

Traveling kids

2011-11-19T14:52:00.000-08:00

Who needs a mama, when they can do it themselves. Well maybe not all by themselves, but Maia sure was having a blast pushing her little brother around in the stroller at 9:30pm while waiting for our delayed flight. This late at night, you do what makes them happy.

Dedication

2011-11-03T13:50:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we were given the opportunity to dedicate Maia and Paxton at church. It was a special time to be able to pray for our kids and to be challenged to raise these kids the best we can and teach them about Jesus in the way we live. What a special opportunity!

Maia all dolled up in her pretty dress.

Some of the other families who were dedicating their kiddos.

Introductions

Prayer time

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

For Halloween our kiddos turned into a monkey and a little chicky. It was a fun year to have a two year old getting into the dressing up and trick or treating. We had a lot of fun going around our neighborhood. Maia loved that she got to pick out candy from a bowl and put it in her bag. This sort of thing has been a common thing for her. That is, carrying around bags with books, puzzle pieces, blocks, mainly anything small enough to put in a bag and tote it around the house. So trick or treating was a very exciting thing. I don't know how much she realized it was candy she was getting, but just the fact of getting something was fun for her. We as parents enjoyed getting to meet some of our neighbors and eating the candy ;). One of our neighbors had some benches by a fire in their back yard for trick or treaters to come and relax. That was our favorite, just a chance to meet neighbors, sip apple cider and enjoy a warm fire.

Our monkey and little chicky

The little monkey showing off her tail.

I (Jeanette) had a blast carving these pumpkins, Maia was not too into the carving part, but loved the pumpkin faces. She often looks out our window to make sure they are still around.

Thats a happy little chicky!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-03T13:26:00.000-07:00

I Love Fall and all that is in it. The air just seems clear and fresh with its crispness. The the leaves so vibrant in their orange, red and yellows as they contrast against the clear blue sky. And of course there is the pumpkin patches, this has become one of our family traditions. We've gone twice now to the one on Sauvie Island and found the trick is to go on the week day. So nice and low key! So thats what we did. And we had fun! We picked out a pumpkin, rode on a hayride and petted some animals. Oh yeah, and Maia climbed on a hay pyramid. I think that was the highlight for sure. Here a just a few of pictures to show you how much fun we had!!!

A Long, Unedited Video for Grandma Jo

2011-10-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

This video is 14 minutes long, and gets repetitive so could be stopped at the halfway mark. I split it in two so you actually have to click on the second one to view the whole long thing. I share it because Maia is pretty chatty throughout, and it gives a great picture of where she is at developmentally, or at least speech-wise. I can only recommend watching the whole thing to Grandma Jo, and perhaps to any cousins under the age of seven. Anyone else might find it a bit of a bore (although it is still worth watching the first minute of the video). If you fit those qualifications, enjoy!

I love that Maia refers to her nummie blanket as a person. She wants it to sit, she often wants to feed it, change its diaper, or put clothes on it. Often when she goes somewhere there are three people going: Maia, Bear, and Nummie.

Maia Learning to Ride a Bike

2011-10-12T00:31:00.000-07:00

Thanks Holly for reminding me that Mom wants videos. These two were from a few weeks ago, so Maia's a little better now, but they were her very first attempts at riding a bike once I figured out I could lower the seat so her feet actually touched the pedals. I love how much she is just clearly enjoying herself.

"Go to Work"

2011-10-08T23:22:00.000-07:00

Tonight Maia carefully stuffed her num-num in her Dora the explorer backpack, then had me help her put it on. Then she picked up bear and walked to the front door and announced, "Bye-bye, see ya! Go to work!" Apparently she's been doing this a lot lately, and Jeanette says that while she is pretending, she is not pretending about going. She'll then tell Jeanette, "Outside!" And want her to open the door. Tonight I wondered how far she would get, so I opened the door for her and away we went.

It was very cute walking with a determined little girl, sometimes running, sometimes shuffling along barely moving, sometimes stopped as she took in all the people sitting outside at the restaurants, and sometimes spinning in a circle like a dog chasing its tail as she tried to see "num-num" behind her in her backpack. For the first five blocks she actually followed my route to work (at each intersection I would ask her "which way?" and she would point emphatically, saying, "That way!") As we passed a bar playing music she began to dance, and for awhile after that she was singing. We had to stop at the coca-cola factory because they have a bright red railing out front, and she wanted to be a monkey. I was a little worried cuz her backpack was big and heavy, and her hands are so tiny, but she hung on and swung really well. Everyone we passed thought she was hilarious. Such a determined little girl. She kept giving her bear a kiss and telling it, "See ya Bear, have fun!"

After 15 blocks, when it was basically dark, she finally stopped and asked me to pick her up. She had carried her bear the whole way, and worn her backpack. I'm still not sure where she works, but she sure enjoyed going there.

We Have a Two Year Old in the House

2011-09-06T09:20:00.000-07:00

On August 29th we celebrated out little girls second birthday!

We celebrated Maia as a family on the 29th, and then on the 30th we celebrated her with family and friends. It was a fun party and I think Maia felt extra special! For her cake I made some colorful cupcakes. When you take a bite into these you will encouter swirls of many colors. It was supposed to be stripes, but then they started to resemble tye dye of a sort. I feel as though they fit Maia's colorful and excitable personality.

Paxton was pretty excited about the party too!! He loves his big sister and often has a big smile on his face when she is around.

(Hmm... she must not have been around in this picture.)

Daddy was in charge of the grill or BBQ
(for those who prefer to call it that).

Gathering in the backyard with Uncle Jeff and Aunt Farrah along with sweet Carson. And don't forget our friend Leah there in the background.

Maia's friend Grayson.

Jordan, Maia's cousin, and her two good friends Eben and Naomi.

Getting excited about downing that cupcake!

Jedd and Michelle holding Paxton.

Jamie and Dave and their little guy Benjamin

All the kids were so excited to help Maia open her gifts. I began to wonder if it was more exciting for everyone else than it was for Maia. She sure enjoyed the help and has been having a blast with all her new toys.

What a blessing it has been to spend these two years with our little Maia. Its been so fun watching her change and grow and become the person she is today. She never ceases to make me smile; she's so constantly full of excitement for the things she loves. And she's one determined little girl; when her mind is set she pursues that thing continually to its end. We love out little girl and are so glad she's in our family!

Little Guy's Trick

2011-07-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

This was first wittnessed when Paxton was 3 weeks old. I had him on his stomach on the couch and he rolled, and another time on the bed. So I thought lets make it official. So I had him the floor and sure enough he rolled. So I don't know if it counts or not, but in my book my boy is rolling over. Yea Paxton!

A Song In Her Heart

2011-06-12T19:01:00.000-07:00

One thing that Maia does most frequently is sing a little song and dance along with it. Sometimes its just her dancing and other times it includes other objects or people. I don't know about you, but it just puts a smile on my face when I encounter the loud, da da da da..... She never ceases to smile right along with you. My hope and prayer is that this bold statement of happiness will not be taken from her and that she will always have a little song in her heart that she can dance to.

Paxton at Two Weeks

2011-06-10T22:17:00.000-07:00

Paxton and I had a little photoshoot the other day to mark him being 2 weeks! So these are a just a few of the shots I took of the little guy. He loves loves loves to sleep and so I thought why not get some shots of what he does best (and he did not want to wake up either). Enjoy the pictures!

I forget how little they are!

This shot was taken today because we got some neat gifts in the mail from our dear friend Julie! Plus Maia loves holding her brother. Often she says, "hold baby, sit down, hold baby". Pretty sweet!

Family visits

2011-06-10T21:56:00.000-07:00

Having a new baby is a fun event in itself, but then it also creates an opportunity for family to come out visiting to meet the little pumpkin. We got the opportunity to have my (Jeanette) siblings come into town to visit. This led to a third fun event of getting to show off the beautiful area that we live in!

Siblings at Multnomah Falls!

Then there is our little family!

Lots of fun with Uncle Nick

We even all got to go to the Ocean, here is Maia having a blast in the sand. It was not a warm day either.

Maia chasing a seagull. She has become pretty sneaky when in comes to chasing animals that are scared of her. We owe that all to our cat Meko who is always running away from this little girl.


Paxton's first time at the ocean. However, he slept through the whole time we were on the beach. In fact, he actually slept through the entire trip to the Coast. That's a newborn for you!


With all the activities Maia was a bit tired. I thought she was actually going to take a nap at the Farmers Market with her blankie, or nummies is what she calls it.

Our week with family was great and we were sad to see them go. However, it is definitely time for us not to be so up in the air, but to set our routines and figure out how to function as a four person family.

Paxton Everett Miller

2011-05-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

.

Born at 9:03am May 25th. 8lbs., 10oz. 20.5 inches long.

Heading to the Hospital at 5:30am

Everett for his maternal grandfather. Miller for his parents and his ancestral paternal lineage.

Paxton: Peaceful Village

Everett: Wild Boar

I love the juxtaposition of these two together. It’s what the book Wild at Heart got wrong in setting up a false dichotomy between the two, and it’s also what we hope for Paxton. The peaceful and the wild. It’s bringing peace yet being adventurous. It’s calm that belies a deep strength. It’s quiet strength or focused power. It’s the love of all things wild, yet with nothing to prove. It’s active, strong, powerful peacemaking. It’s being a perfect gentleman, yet under that suit is one who is daring and a little dangerous. It’s Raw, Untamable, and yet directed towards Good. It’s living in Shalom; in right relationship with all around him, yet through active effort not weakness. It’s a pioneer carving out a home for his family in the midst of the wilderness—making a quiet spot to live within the four walls of the log cabin he’s constructed himself. It’s being a man, yet sacrificially spending that manliness in the service of others. It’s Powerful yet Good. It’s a peacemaker bringing peace to an entire village through his manly efforts.

"Baby Tita!"

Blocks, Blocks, and More Blocks

2011-05-17T23:38:00.000-07:00

Here's a proud Maia having success with the blocks.

But sometimes playing with blocks can be a little frustrating.

Ah, the joys and sorrows of play.

Maia All Dressed Up for Easter

2011-04-26T08:52:00.000-07:00

This is my attempt at taking some Easter pictures of Maia. She was not feeling so well today and so our photo shoot ended up in tears as she bit her cheek and was in pain for a little bit. Poor girl! So here is the best ones I got. She was the most still when she was reading a book.

At least I got a smile out of her, but her eyes indicate that she really was not well.

It was a challenge to get her in her Easter bonnet because as soon as I would put it on she would try to take it off. So these are a few of the shots I could capture. Toddlers do like to make it a challenge when it comes to photos.

We had a quiet Easter this year. We went to church and celebrated the Resurrection of our Lord and then came home spent the rest of the day here.

Hope you had a lovely Easter!

Farmers Market Dancing

2011-04-23T22:09:00.000-07:00

Nothing beats another sunny warm day in Portland. Today we went to the Farmers Market at PSU (Portland State University) along with everyone else in the city it felt. It was busy, but absolutely understandable it was just gorgeous out. Well here is a couple videos of Maia bust'n a move to some blue grass music. She knows how to have fun!

Tiptoe Through the Tulips

2011-04-23T21:39:00.000-07:00

We may have our rain in Portland, but we do have some beautiful flowers as a result of it. Yesterday (Friday) we took a little trip south of Portland to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival just outside of Woodburn. We brought along a friend, Ellison, who I watch on Wednesday and Friday mornings. So it was a fun adventure for all of us. I love contrasts, and I find that it is such a contrast from our dreary gray days to a beautiful sunny day with lots and lots of color. Cheers me up!

I am not the only one who felt cheery, but these two girls were let loose and were running, running, running down the paths along the tulips.

Occasionally they had to stop to check out the tulips a little closer and maybe even give them a little sniff.

Michael even got into the running excitement!

I really liked the purple ones this time. Maybe because we have a lot of red and yellow ones by our house, that the puple just grabbed my attention.

Ellison really liked poking her head in these little picture sign things, so we let her have the chance to do it and tried to get Maia into it. She sort of liked it.

What Maia really liked was the slide they had. She kept going around and around pushing her way through the bigger kids to get up the stairs and onto the slide.

Two little girls stuffed inside a shoe. At least one is smiling!

A picture with Mama. Gotta have that!

It really is quite a sight to drive into the farm and see in the near distance just an array of color.

Here is a video of Maia going down the slide. Like I said she did this over and over and over again!

Maia and Meko

2011-03-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

These two long videos will give you a great picture of how these two interact. It's a love-hate relationship. Maia loves Meko, and Meko loves, well... Meko loves her blanket and her window.

Enjoy!

A Good Day To Go To The Park

2011-03-24T21:44:00.000-07:00

The other day it was not raining and the sun was trying to shine so Maia and I took a walk to the park. I think I am learning to adjust to these Portland winters. Its hard for me to want to get out and play when it is all rainy out. I have learned, however to take full advantage of the days it is not raining and get outside. So that is what we did. I decided to take my camera with us on this walk since there is so much budding and blooming all around I wanted to capture some of its beauty.

So the first beauty I captured was this little girl who was having fun in the swing. I wanted to get other shots of her playing, but I realized it is not very practical for me to try to take pictures as she is trying to be a dare devil on the play structures. She is quick and I am not so much these days.

On our way home we came across some beautiful flowers. Maia will point them out and say "See, see" and then sometimes she will say "pretty!" I told her I agree. Yes they are so pretty and it was nice to be around bright colors! I do believe these are camellias. Correct me if I am wrong. I am trying to make a point to learn my flowers. Whatever the case they were sure pretty and made my day!!!

Of course we had to stop by the cherry blossoms. It just shouted out to me "spring spring it has finally arrived!!!"

And then there are the nobby trees. I love being in the park where Maia can just take off and run. I think she loves it too because she just loves running from me with the occasional stop and look to make sure I am still coming her direction. So much fun!!

I have been thinking a little about spring this year. I thought it would never come and it has with all its promises of new life! It excited me to first see signs of the crocus showing its purple, orange, white, etc... prettiness and then the daffodiles in their bright yellow cheerfulness, I just get excited for whats to come! Soon there will be strawberries, blueberries, all kinds of veggies, oh sun warm tomatoes, and I could go on and on. I think you get my drift!! I feel as though we make it through the winter to appreciate all the more of spring and summer. At least I feel that way this year, especially as we await for this little guy to arrive in June. I have not had lots of time to just sit and think about it, but I have been trying to be a little more intentional about it and it excites me. I feel like pregnancy is not all that fun (at least for me), however, the aches, pains, and tiredness is all worth it when I think about welcoming this little life into the world!!

Lemons

2011-03-24T15:00:00.000-07:00

I guess we have often heard the expression, "When life hands you a lemon, make some lemonade."

Hmmm....how about making a Lemon Pound Cake??? At least that is what ran in my head when I was given some beautiful lemons that came straight from a lemon tree in California. I have a love for sweet things and a love for baking them, and so I decided lemon pound cake it is!!

To sweeten things up I made a glaze with confectioners sugar and lemon juice. Nothing like a little sweet tang to liven things up!

All glazed and ready to go!

What a great way to welcome spring!!

Happy Spring to you!!!

Note: recipe for lemon pound cake can be found: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sour-Cream-and-Lemon-Pound-Cake-2121

Last night...

2011-03-22T15:23:00.000-07:00

...Baby Brother was in Maia's tummy. The day before he was in Mommy's. He moves around depending on when you ask her. Right now I can hear her up in her crib-- she just woke up from her nap, and is lifting her shirt up and pinning it under her chin. Then she rubs her belly and says, "Baby!" I guess that's appropriate, since this morning we went in for Mommy's ultrasound, and at the end Maia got to lay down on the bed and get an 'ultrasound' of her tummy too so we could see the baby inside.

On an unrelated note, here's a more recent video than those last ones of the kinds of things Maia does these days:

I'm asking her to 'cry' at one point, because she has this hilarious fake cry that she will do on cue. But not today. Maybe someday we'll get a video of it. She'll even interrupt real crying to give her fake cry if we ask her too. She also has a fake laugh, which if you listened carefully you heard her do in the video after Jeanette asked her to.

And here's a poor quality video of what Maia's doing right now:

Okay, actually the video was of yesterday, but she is doing the exact same thing in her crib right now too. Apparently Bear loves to dance while she sings, cuz he sure does it a lot!

Wink Wink!

2011-03-22T15:07:00.000-07:00

This video is from almost three months ago, so you've got to realize that Maia has changed quite a bit since then. But it's still fun to watch. At the beginning Jeanette asks her if she is all done, and what she is saying back is, "No mama!"

Here's another example of her burgeoning skills:

What a cutie!

Green Box

2011-03-17T22:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it is more fun playing with the container that the toys come in than with the actual toys. We often find that to be true in our house, especially if it comes in a small box-like container.

Thus, here are some ways that fun can be had with such a container.

First of all, trying to fit yourself into the container. Maybe you can't quite fit, but it is sure fun to try!

Another way to enjoy such a container is to bring along your favorite blanket. That is often fun because it makes the box seem extra cozy! And it is always nice to have that blanket nice and close!

Sometimes it's just fun to put your special blanket in the box and then take it out again and put it back in.

Next thing to try is to put the box on your head like a giant hat! Ta-da! Just like this!

Here is a close up of how cute you can look! Think I can begin a fashion trend?

It's always fun to see how many heads you can fit into one container. Do you think we both can fit?? Well at least we can make loud noises in the box and hear it echo!

Maybe we can fit if we face each other. Well it sure is fun to put the box on mama's head none-the-less!

Whatever the case may be, it is just fun to find different ways to play with a single container!

And another thing is,

Happy St. Patricks day!!!

A Speculation v2.0

2011-03-17T10:38:00.000-07:00

     Saturday night we left Ginya's UHaul at the Huffman's because we didn't want to park it on our narrow street, and then Jeanette drove me out to get it Sunday morning to drive down to Grass Valley. Since we were making a stop at a coffee shop on the way, we decided to drive surface streets through downtown over to the Huffman's rather than backtracking a few blocks to get on the freeway. But we forgot about the Shamrock Run. (Or rather, Shamrock Fitness Walk as noone seemed to be in much of a hurry).

     We were stuck not moving through several lights, so finally we decided to make a left, and ended up in a bus only lane, with a bus driver yelling at us out her window. Sometime later we got out of that mess and managed to turn onto the street we wanted to be on, and thought we were home-free, finally heading to the freeway. But while traffic had been moving (slightly), by that time the Run (Walk) had started and traffic locked up. We were trapped, with the route encircling us, and sat watching light after light turn green then red again. Eventually the police paused the Walk to let some cars through, which gave us hope. 20 minutes later they paused it again, and we managed to make it through.  After an hour and a half of being stuck, we finally made it out to the UHaul so I could begin my long journey. Two of us were pretty frustrated, though I looked back and asked Maia if she was stressed, and she shook her head no, then giggled.

     Many hours later, on the road, I began to see signs warning of high wind from Yreka to Weed. The radio kept intoning over and over again that 'high profile vehicles were not advised.' I began to pray, and watched the spray off of vehicles in front of me to see if any of it appeared to be suddenly whipped around in a gust. The wind never materialized, and I made it through that section just fine. Later though, when I talked to Ginya and Ed who had travelled through that section a few hours earlier, they said that they had indeed hit incredibly wind and been blown all over the place. When they stopped for gas in Weed they could barely walk it was so blustery.

     So I wonder, what would have happened had I passed through there an hour and a half earlier like I had intended? I can't know, just as I can't know God's reason's for many things simply because I don't have the prerequisite knowledge in order to understand. But I do ponder whether leaving earlier would have caused me to end up in a ditch somewhere between Yreka in Weed in an overturned UHaul. Did God have us get stuck in the Shamrock Run in order to save my life? Likely this is not the case, as the fact that I can imagine this speculation means it is probably not the correct reason. More likely perhaps is that He wanted to teach us patience. But there is something to be gained from this sort of speculation. I know, from history, from the lives of friends, and from my own experience, that God is a good God. So what do I do with that when I get stuck in downtown Portland for no evident reason? I can change my mind and decide that He must not be good. After all, I did pray that He would get us out of there. I choose instead to trust that in this scenario, while I cannot get at His reasons in order to know whether He was acting for my good or not--I choose to trust that He was indeed acting with my good in mind. I have example after example in my life to lead me to this conclusion, and there are a number of possible explanations, albiet none that I can know for sure, that would fit this scenario and show Him to be Good. I choose to rely on the vast majority of evidence, and trust that this person I know is not two-faced and acting inconsistently with who I know Him to be everytime I am unable to see why He is doing things.

January and Feburary Snapshots

2011-03-15T10:32:00.000-07:00

Its been a long time since I (Jeanette) have written anything on the blog. So I thought I would update you all with pictures.

On February 7th we celebrated Michael's 30th birthday. We had a small dinner party at our house with some of Michael's closest friends here in the area.

For Michael's Birthday I made him a Cheese cake. Yes, don't count the candles because I did not have 30 on hand to put on the cake. Ooops.

We also got the chance to visit our friends Danny and Marci and meet their new little addtion Juliette in Janurary. Juliette was named in part after me! They live in Coos Bay, which is south central on the Oregon Coast, so we got to say a little hello to the ocean!!

Our little Maia loves the sand. She can't keep her hands off of it when we are on the beach.

Its so fun to have close friends having kiddos too!

Michael had requested Ginya's homemade potato doughnuts for his birthday. Since we were overwhelmed with sweet things already on that day, Valentines Day seemed like a better day for doughnuts. I was able to get that recipe and while Michael was working the morning shift Maia and I were hastily making doughnuts for him to come home to!!! They were so good and the recipe made quite a large batch, so we were able to deliver some Valentines love to the Leighs and Huffmans.

Although sometimes life seems busy, there are always those sweet times of cuddling. Since our daughter is

a go getter these moments of her falling asleep on my lap are extra precious and should be cherished!

We also got snow in Portland!!! Yes compared to many of you who live in much more snowier places, this was not much and it was gone just as fast as it came. I decided to head over to Laurelhurst Park to capture some photos of the snow before it melted. While I was there, there were many children (since even the forecast of snow causes school to cancel) sledding down the little hills in the park. Yes we love our snow when we get it.

We even bundled up Maia in her snow outfit and let her play outside in our backyard for a little bit. She had a blast with this cold, wet snow.

Well, that's a snapshot of the Miller's adventures in the past few months. We have had other adventures, but they will have to wait for another post!

Cookie Monster

2011-02-26T16:28:00.000-08:00

Today Maia and I were playing in the living room, and I got up for a minute and went in the kitchen. I grabbed a bite of magic cookie bar, and made sure I had finished eating it before going back to Maia. Then I sat down with her and continued playing. She however smelled it on my breath, got up, walked to directly below where the cookies were, came back, asked me to pick her up, had me walk to them, on the way asked me to open my mouth as she inspected it to see if I was eating any, then asked for a cookie.

(The only part left is the non-coconut part that we made for Clint and Merodie)

I gave her a bit, but that girl would always want more no matter how much you gave her. So I told her all done and that we weren't having any more cookies. She insisted for quite awhile, and finally realized that I wasn't going to get her anymore. At that point she left me, went into the kitchen, grabbed the step ladder where it was folded up and wedged in between the oven and cupboard, and dragged it all the way out. She then tried and tried to unfold it and set it up, but to no success. Poor girl got pretty frustrated that she couldn't get that stool to do what she wanted to do.

(The chocolate smears on her face are actually from later in the day when mom brought home some more cookies from a baby shower. That girl sure loves her cookies!)

In fact, that's been a theme lately. Maia has developed a frustrated sound she makes when she just can't do what she wants to do. We'll hear it when she's trying and trying to take mommy's tank top off after finally getting it on, or when she wants to stack her blocks 14 high and they keep tumbling at 13, or when she is trying and trying to put Bear in the stroller but it is tipped forward too much and he keeps falling out. She's slowly learning to come get us and ask for help, although she hasn't quite learned to say 'help' yet. Our little girl seems so busy all day long!

For Grandma Tita

2011-01-07T15:18:00.000-08:00

Maia is sure a chatterbox! She especially loves to talk in the mornings. Here's a video of her chattering away. Unfortunately once I got the video camera out, Meko walked in, and Maia was so interested in seeing her that she chats a little less in the video than she did prior to when I pressed play.

The next videos are of Maia doing her chores. I thought Grandma Tita would get a kick out of it, because she and Maia work so hard doing the same things. This first one was already posted on facebook, so this is for all you non-facebook people.

This next video is the second half of her chores. A warning to everyone else-- it's 6 minutes long and nothing changes. I only post it here so Grandma Tita can see it, the rest of you, don't keep watching expecting something spectacular to happen right at the end-- you'll be disappointed!

Maia opening her gift from Grandma Tita (and Grandpa Everett).

And finally, a video of what happened right after she opened her present from Grandma Tita. The horse wasn't put together yet, but the music worked! Maia really wanted to dance to it, but first she had to get it to play a longer song than just the 'neigh.'

And as a bonus, here is a series of her opening her gift from Grandma Jo.

Dad was vacuuming in the living room, so two scared little ones who normally stay far away from one another found solace in the same spot exactly as far away from the living room as they could get.

A Little Hawaiian Sun

2010-11-08T22:34:00.001-08:00

We had the opportunity to escape Portland for a week and venture in the warm sun of Hawaii. We stayed with Tiffany Geiger and her family and enjoyed their hospitality. This biggest excitement on this trip was Maia's experience with warm ocean water and lots and lots of sand to play with. She was thrilled every time we went to the ocean. We had to watch her close because she would bee-line for the ocean. Our time was spent trying not to focus on things in Portland, but to enjoy family time. I feel like that was accomplished and we felt pretty refreshed when we returned. Here is just a recap of our trip.

Day 1.
We landed in Honolulu on Sunday October 31st in the mid morning. It was nice to have most of the day there. We had lunch and then headed over to Waikiki to walk around and say hello to the ocean. Maia was thrilled!!!

Our adventures started with Tiffany's mom's car breaking down on us while we were there. So some of our afternoon was spent figuring out a tow truck and all that sort of stuff.

Since it was Halloween we got to get Maia all dressed up in her ladybug costume and go to an event at Tiffany's church. The time zone change was quite a big deal and so at this point it was about 9:00pm our time which means usually Maia has been in bed for about 2 hours. So Halloween was not that fun for her. However, she did get to ride the pony and that was fun for her.

Maia conked out right after she got off that pony. It was a matter of seconds of her falling asleep as we were getting her in the Ergo. That was one exhausted little girl.
So since Maia was asleep Michael thought maybe he could try to use her costume to get a little candy. Hmmm...I don't know if that will work?

Day 2: We went to Lanikai, one of our favorite beaches. We just loved how gentle the waves were and how peaceful and unpopulated the beach was. Maia loved how yummy the sand tasted. It was an upward battle trying to keep the sand out of her mouth.

Tiffany and Maia playing in the ocean!

The water was so warm, Maia just loved running right to it. However, she was not a fan of getting in with us. She just loved being able to get her feet wet and then sit in the shallow water and play with the sand.

As always, Maia makes friends where ever she goes. I was holding her in the water when she was saying Dah dah (her word for dog) and panting as she was making her sound for a dog. And I was wondering why is she just saying that out of the blue and then sure enough right behind us was a dog on a boogie board and a the owner pulling him along. Good eyes Maia! So this is the dog and the owner.

Family in the ocean!

Day 3: On this day we spent some time at Pearl Harbor. We have not seen the monument and thought it was a good thing to see at least once while we are in Hawaii. So we hopped on the ferry and went out to the memorial for the Arizona. It was pretty sobering to think about all that took place the day that boat sank.

After Pearl Harbor we went to Leonards where we tasted the deliciousness of the Malasada - a Portuguese Doughnut. Delicious as most doughs that are fried and tossed with sugar.

Maia thought they were pretty delicious as well!

I think she was sad that the Malasada was all gone, or maybe it was just past her bedtime once again.

Day 4: It was a rainy day in Hawaii while in Portland the sun was shining and it was supposedly a beautiful day. Ironic? Well we decided that we would take a drive and head towards the North Shore and see the waves and eat some shrimp. It turned out to be a fun day. On the North Shore the rain was not coming down so much and it was actually pleasant to be out, so we sat on Sunset Beach and watched the waves and the surfers.

We also kept a close eye on our little girl because she was creeping down the sand dune and towards the roaring ocean.

The roaring ocean.

On our way to the North Shore we stopped and had garlic shrimp. Mmm...mmm...good!

Day 5: This was our last full day in Hawaii. We ended up spending some of the day at the beach Makapu'u with Tiffany.

After we dropped off Tiffany at school, we went to Waikiki and walked around and watched the Sunset. Good way to end our time in Hawaii. It was a great trip and we thoroughly and enjoyed every bit of. We are thankful for the opportunity to go and thankful for great friends to open their home for us to stay and their cars for us to use. We are certainly blessed!

Maia and Her Bear

2010-11-08T22:25:00.000-08:00

Maia has a little bear that she just loves. It was given to her from her Grandma in South Dakota for Valentines Day and since then she has had an attachment towards the bear. Sometimes I think the bear's name is Hi There, since that is what the bear says when you push its foot and Maia tends to address it as such. Often theres a big smile on this girls face when she encounters her Hi There Bear. So one day I thought I would document her carrying around her special bear. Its been fun watching her play with dolls and stuffed animals and how she hugs them and takes care of them. What kindness and love that she portrays! So these are just a set of photos of Maia and her Bear.

Family Outing to the Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-24T20:58:00.001-07:00

This past Wednesday we decided to get out into a pumpkin patch. Its the fall thing to do right? Well it was a gorgeous day here in Portland and we were thinking that those days are beginning to be few so we took advantage of this day and headed on out to Sauvie Island to The Pumpkin Patch. The perk on going to such an outing during the middle of the week in the afternoon is that it is not overly crowded and so we felt like we really got to enjoy ourselves! There was animals to see, pumpkins to pick and a hayride to ride. In fact, this first photo is of Michael and Maia on the hayride. It took us out to the actual patch where pumpkins were still on the vines or at least the vines were still there.

Little Maia with her country get up sitting on a pumpkin. And no this is not the one we picked. We took the hayride back to the main place with our pumpkin in hand. However, I did not get a picture of the pumpkin we chose, but it is sitting on our front stairs outside. We also came home with a sweet meat squash in which I intend to make a pie out of. Mmmm mmmm!

So we left that pumpkin patch with our pumpkin and squash and headed to another one nearby to see if they had any caramel apples since the first one did not. Yes, I was a little disappointed because that is one of my favorite things about a pumpkin patch or any fall festivity. So at the other pumpkin patch there was caramel apples and we were so excited. Maia especially enjoyed our little treat, however, I think she mainly enjoyed the caramel. Who doesn't enjoy the caramel right??

As Michael and I finished the caramel deliciousness Maia ran around enjoying a new environment. Lots of ground for her to explore.

We headed back home after we devoured our caramel apple and was appreciative of what a fun outing we had. Its great to have places like these to go to. Its great to get out as a family and enjoy one another. I love fall and I am glad it has arrived, a change of season is always nice. Sometimes its refreshing to move on to something new. To eat some soup and make apple pies.

Happy Fall to you!!

The Priviledge of Visiting Friends

2010-10-22T18:54:00.001-07:00

I find that this month we have had the privilege to visit some friends who have made impacts on our lives and people we cherish. What a privilege it is to be able to do so. Although we seemed faced with times that are not what we would expect, we are able to fly around to different parts of the country at a minimal cost of free! Thanks to Jet Blue for hiring Michael a year and a half ago! This would not happen other wise, or at least as often as we have gotten to go and visit. So I hope for us to look back at this time and feel blessed!

The first weekend in October Maia and I (Jeanette) made a trip out to Oklahoma to visit some friends from my college years. It was great to see the McNalls and Kilpatricks and other friends that are living down in the area. We had fun playing in the pumpkin patch and also good times of conversation in the evenings. We certainly enjoyed our time out there and was glad to make it the second annual visit! Two weeks after the trip to Oklahoma we were able to make a trip down to Southern California to visit a few of Michael's friends from college. It was a fun experience to have all our families together. The Smths were down in the area visiting before they were to head out to Germany and so we decided to go down at the same time to see them before they took off. We also got together with the Brovers and got to meet their sweet baby girl Eliora.

In that same visit we were able to take some time to visit friends of Michael's that attended the same church he did while he was in college. Erv and Ermalee were a sweet couple who took in Michael and his friends as kids of their own. So it was a joy to be able to spend some quality time with them. Maia had a blast as well!

We are blessed with relationships that will last a lifetime and into eternity and we are grateful for the moments we get to spend with them. What a privilege to have friends who you can share your life with. What fun to have memories that can make you laugh when you are together!

One Year Old Photos

2010-10-07T12:11:00.001-07:00

We did a little photo shoot of Maia at the Rose Garden here in Portland. It was quite a challenge to take photos of an active little girl, but we had a lot of fun and it was nice to see a few turned out. So enjoy Maia's one year old photos!

Talker, Walker, and Sweeper of the Floor

2010-09-22T14:01:00.000-07:00

I posted the one of Maia walking already on facebook, but I wanted to add the one of her sweeping the floor. She is a good little helper :). Anyways, enjoy these sweet videos of our growing daughter. She is changing so fast! Its hard to keep up.

Confronted with Parenthood

2010-09-20T19:10:00.000-07:00

I think it was Marion Parker who said "You have now entered in where time flies by so fast." Ain't it the truth. Watching Maia change and develop in her first year is amazing and I am shocked at how fast its all gone, and will continue to do so. However, I am learning to love and appreciate where she is at right now (I'll admit it is hard sometimes when she is screaming and I wish she could just talk and tell me whats up). The crawling is starting to lessen and soon the jibber jabber that we love will be real words and she can't go back to jibber jabber (well, maybe she could). However, it has been great to watch her take those first few steps to where she is now taking 10-20 steps with her hands straight out. She is constantly imitating sounds and is starting to label ball, bear, and bye (all sounding exactly the same, but you know what she is refering to when she says it). She loves Peek-a-boo and will play with the towel all by herself for a while jibber jabbering as she puts the towel on her head and off of her head. All to say I am amazed!!!

As much as she is learning I am learning as well. Wow, I am not a patient person! I thought marriage would push that (and it has), but parenthood I feel has pushed it all the more. I feel that I am confronted all the time with my impatience and have to stop and ask the Lord for help! I feel like it has become more so since Maia has turned one. She has more demands and is also going through many transitions, so it is inevitable for her to be extra needy at times. But sometimes I don't want to be needed, and that is where I run out of patience and have to realize this is where she is at and this is where I am at, and who is the adult here. I thought about this today how much I have to be willing to change and grow as a parent and need to realize my incapabilities in order to begin a change. Wow does that sound like AA or what. Our church is doing a series on the 7 Deadly Sins, and this week the pastor was emphasizing how much we need to realize the rotteness and awfulness of our sin to realize how amazing God's grace is. I have been thinking about that a lot, and I have been thinking about my life and the things I need to be confronted with to realize just how awful they are. This is a necessary step before remembering that God has paid it all, and it is His grace and love that drives me to change! His grace is what gives me patience when I am completly empty. He sees where I am at and helps me through it. Thank you Father!!!! I am amazed at what parenthood is doing to me. I feel humbled; I had an Idea that it was supposed to go a certain way, and then everything goes the opposite. Today I felt humbled when I had worked hard on sweeping and mopping my kitchen and bathroom floor and Maia pees on the bathroom floor and I step on a piece of banana and spill a container of baking soda on the kitchen floor. No big deal, but I felt defeated. It took me a while to get over it and shrug my shoulders and remember there are more important things in life, and clean floors don't need to take priority. My main prayer is to be someone who continues to grow and change, to alow my self to be confronted with my selfishness and awfulness, and to be constantly driven towards the grace and love that brings about change. So I say YAY for parenthood!!!! Yay for times when you are at the end of your rope! Yay for a Father in Heaven who comes to be a helper and gives me strength in my weaknesses!

We Have A One Year Old

2010-09-10T22:47:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I have posted anything on the blog. Our summer seemed to have flown by faster than than I was able to blog about it. We went to Virginia to Jennies wedding, picked and ate lots of blueberries and then we moved. However, we were able to wrap up the summer chaos by celebrating Maia's first year of life! There was definitely a celebration going on at our place on August 29Th. We had a hoot with many of our friends in the area coming over. Many people from our church group joined us along with some friends from Michaels work. We also had some family (the Mosers) and close friends that we have known for awhile join us. It was great to have many circles of friends join us for one common purpose, to celebrate Maia.

First off, the spread. We did homemade pizzas with some hummus , salad and wings. Oh yeah, and cake.
The cake. It was a huge cake and it will be memorable at least for me (Jeanette). It kept looking as if it was going to topple over at some points, but I managed to catch it and give it a little nudge and all was good. Maia sure enjoyed it. It was an orange cake with blueberry filling and cream cheese frosting. Delish!

"All for me?"

Yummy!

OPA!!!!!

Gifts Sisters! Just never mind all the stuff on my shirt. I certainly did!

Maia's one year old trick!

Maia's excitement about being a one year old and ready to cook up something delicious!

It has definitely been a huge joy to have you Maia in our lives. I could never have asked for better timing! You make me laugh everyday with your silliness and you know how to melt my heart with your sweet kisses! I love how you chatter away in your "own" words describing what you see or are doing. You are a determined girl making sure to get what you have set out to get, and I pray that you will be determined to set out to seek the Lord and love Him with all that you are. I am so blessed to be your mother and I get excited to see you become more of who you are as you grow. I love you sweetly my dear Maia!

Camping on the Oregon Coast

2010-07-18T23:14:00.000-07:00

We got to get out of the Portland and head to the Coast to spend a few days as a family. Camping has been on our minds for a while this summer, and we decided that this was the week we were going to make it happen. Needless to say, we had a blast and were glad we got out there. So I will overwhelm you with a few pictures of our time at the coast.

This is our little happy camper and her three pearly whites. She did an excellent job being out in a new environment. We were glad she had fun eating all the dirt and sand any chance she could get when our backs were turned.

It was chilly, but we managed to get a little wet

Daddy even got a chance to chill and relax, always something good for this hard working man.

Evidence of much sand that was eaten. Later we found more evidence in her diaper. Apparently it tasted good because she would just take her tongue and lick it. Silly girl!

Even 29 year olds have fun building sand castles. Yes this isn't as huge as others on the beach, but I was pretty proud of my little fortress.

Here is the front

Here is the Queen of the fortress.

My favorie part. The trees. I will admit I was pretty proud of these as well!

Just a few snapshots of the sun going down on the beach.

Our last morning we got up to go out during low tide. So here are a couple of our finds.

After our walk we came back to camp and I got to snuggle my little camper. Not too often does this happen with our mover, so I soak it in when I can.

Our little campsite!

Our happy camping family.

Lots of fun camping. If you want to come and join us feel free. We have more plans to get out this August. So come along or stay tuned for more pictures!!!

"Strawberry Fields Forever"

2010-06-21T22:16:00.000-07:00

Oh boy its that time of year again. Even though we still haven't felt summer yet here, the strawberries knew it was still time for them to come up and grace us with their tasty presence. I love it when its strawberry season! I got pretty excited as it was approaching and began checking the website where we like to pick strawberries to see if they were ready yet. When it said they were open for business, we headed out to the strawberry fields to pick us some strawberries! Admiring the countryside as we walk with excitement down to the patch where the Hood Strawberries await us, our favorites!

This is how Michael and Maia picked strawberries. I had Maia on my lap at one point and she was picking the leaves trying to imitate what I was doing. So close Maia!

We even got some family photos out there. Here we are amongst our 18lbs of Strawberries. Lets just say I got a little carried away. Oh but they were delicious!

Even though this was Maia's first time to be out among the strawberries, she did make an appearance last year. Michael and I reminisced about being out here last year and I mentioned that it was so much easier to be down on the ground picking those berries this year. What fun!

This year Maia gets to be among the fun. So you may think what did we do with all those strawberries. Well I made 10 pints of Jam, froze some, ate them by themselves and made milk shakes of course. Those of you who love strawberries, hope you are enjoying this season as much as I am!!!!!!

Celebrating a Friend!

2010-06-21T21:45:00.001-07:00

Congratulations JULIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We got to go to Santa Cruz to celebrate our dear friend Julie as she graduated with her undergrad in History! Except for the fact that it was a quick and tiring trip, we were very glad to be there to watch her walk with pride and honor as she received her degree. What an accomplishment! Julie is always trying to make Maia into a princess. I think it worked, if only for a few seconds while she was distracted by something else.

Maia and her Auntie Julie!

I think one of Maia's favorite moments was when Julie opened her graduation gifts. She was enamored by the colorful ribbons that were on some of Julies gifts, and she lloved that she got to have some part in opening them as well.

I got to play in the kitchen while we were there. One of my favorite things to do is decorate cakes. Julie made all the deliciousness and I got to put it together. And it turned out fabulous. Well done Julie! She made a strawberry shortcake cake! What a great way to celebrate!

We are glad we made it out there. Julie, we are proud of you and how hard you have worked to earn this degree!

Beach cruising

2010-06-10T08:33:00.000-07:00

When Grandma Jo was here visiting we went to the beach. I forgot to bring my camera so I just had my video camera and I was able to catch some fun videos of Maia crawling on the beach. Enough said, enjoy the videos!

Going to Grandma's house (and Grandpa's, Gigit and Frank's)

2010-06-09T21:36:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago Maia and I took a trip to see Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Nick in a far away land called South Dakota. It was a long journey and we, I mean I, had to carry all our stuff as we got in and out of 3 different airplanes. We kept our smiles on because we were headed to see some very special people (and their 2 dogs). There was lots of fun to be had in the land of South Dakota. Grandma had fun with a giant sombrero and so Maia had to try it on for size as well.

Not to mention the many different smiles that were had playing with Grandpa.

Uncle Nick came by and stole Maia's heart. She loves her Uncle Nick. There was an abundance of laughter when he was around.

Maybe even more laughter when Gigit was around. Maia found that she loved little dogs more than cats, at least more than our scared-ey cat Meko. The dogs, Gigit (the pug) and Frank, did not run away from her when she was let loose on the floor. In fact, they just gave her kisses after kisses.

In South Dakota, Maia made some new friends. Grandma runs a daycare and so there were lots of little people running around. This made Maia so happy because she gets so excited when there are little kids in the area. Some of these kids entertained Maia with bubbles.

One friend in particular was closer in age to Maia and had just learned how to walk right before we arrived. So they got to play with each other when she (Ellie) was around.

More fun with Grandpa was had.

We got the chance to visit a park that I grew up going to as a kid. This park is called Storybook Land. There are lots of play structures that reflect different children's stories and so we played a little there.

As always, all good things must come to an end. We had so much fun visiting Grandma and Grandpa in South Dakota. It's a treat to be out there!!! Hopefully we will be back soon!!!

Theres Something Fishy Going On

2010-05-25T10:28:00.001-07:00

I began working on this post before I left for South Dakota, and I never finished it. So I kept the picture and decided to write about it. I thought it was a pretty picture of the salmon I made about a week ago. I had been craving salmon and decided it was time that I got brave and made some. I found a recipe for roasted salmon with a lime salsa. OOOOWEEE was it good and hit the spot for sure. Honestly I think I was more intimidated to ask the guy at the meat counter for the fish than I was to make it. I never get fish so I didn't know if you had to buy the whole fillet or the amount that you needed. So if any of you are wondering...you can buy the amount you need and they will cut it up for you. Maia and I circled the meat counter until I got brave and asked for salmon I needed. Next time I will go with confidence and order my fish!

We are having a great time in South Dakota. Maia is enjoying her Grandpa, Grandma and Uncle Nick and I have loved just being apart of it all. So once we get back I will post some pictures of our fun times here in the prairie.

Milestones # 3

2010-05-19T08:14:00.000-07:00

This one shows Maia's determination. I saw her chasing the cats and so I thought it would be fun to get the camera and catch some footage of her chasing the cats and next thing I knew she was going up the stairs. This is her official first time of climbing stairs, and you get to be there for it! Hopefully you don't get too sick watching this video; it is a little shaky since I was a bit surprised at Maia's new endeavor.

This next one is a little less jiggly, as I had some help and didn't have to spot and video all at the same time. While its a better video, I am more impressed with the determination and speed she used to get up the stairs in the first one. She just kept going and going!

Milestones # 2

2010-05-18T20:27:00.000-07:00

Crawling. Yes she is crawling and crawling everywhere. It is so fun watching her get to places, but it is a lot more work making sure she is not getting into anything she is not supposed to be getting into. It has definately changed around with her being more mobile, she is sure loving it! So here is a great video of her crawling in action.

Milestones #1

2010-05-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

So I was thinking about doing a string of videos we have of Maia's latest milestones. Just about a week ago she started standing in her crib holding on to the edges and she is also pulling her self up holding on to the couch and coffee table. Its been fun watching her change and grow. She changes so fast!! This is of her standing in her crib so happy of her new accomplishment.

Maia meets her cousins in Colorado!

2010-05-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

We had the wonderful opportunity to make a trip out to Colorado last week. Maia got to finally meet more of her cousins along with her Aunt Katie and Uncle Mitch. We had fun just being a part of their lives there in Colorado for a few days. There was a lot excitement among the the girls. Maia was happy to see her cousins and Anna, Josie and Ruthy were excited to see her. There was much excitement over the pack and play and all the girls in it!

Michael had fun too playing games and reading books. He's a great uncle to his nieces! Anna helped me play Rush Hour for the first time. It was fun watching her do a few and have her help me figure out how to maneuver the cars to get my car out. If you have not played it, its addicting!

Lots of fun in the baskets!

Not only did Anna, Josie and Ruthy have fun with Maia, but Aunt Katie got into as well. I love the action in the photo it was great to watch the "parade"!

Here is a shot of an amazing mama among her beautiful girls!!! One, two, three, go!!!

We had fun introducing Maia to the bike cart. When I say we I say everyone else, but Maia. She tolerated it for a little while, but towards the end she was spent!

The whole family on the couch. Horray!!!

Maia, are you in there??

We also went on a hike to the Red Rocks. It was beautiful out and we got to get out there and enjoy the freshness of the mountains.

Thanks Mitch, Katie, Anna, Josie and Ruthy for letting us come and spend some time with you! We had a great time and miss you all greatly!

Jet Blue's 10th Anniversary Shin-Dig

2010-05-13T20:52:00.000-07:00

Back in April the three of us went on a day trip down to Long Beach, CA for a Jet Blue 10th Anniversary Fair. It was great for us to leave rainy Portland and hit up the warmth and sunshine of southern California. The Picnic was amazing as well full of fun activities and food that was absolutly FREE!!!!!!!!!!! You could walk right up to the lady with the ice cream cart and say " I would like an ice cream sandwich," and she would just give it to you. How fun is that? We thought it was a lot of fun. So besides stuffing our faces with all the food we could get for FREE we also played a few games, got our faces painted, and dominated at jousting. So here is a "snap shot" (if you will) of our day. We often talk about how fun it would be to fly somewhere for the day and we got our opportunity. Yee-Haw!!!

So Happy Birthday Jet Blue!! We are glad we got to celebrate with you!

Tulips, Tulips, TULIPS!

2010-04-25T21:53:00.000-07:00

Daphne and I along with our kiddos went on a a little adventure to a tulip farm nearby. They have an annual tulip festival for about a month when the tulips are in season. It was so colorful. Just bright, bold rows of color. Its hard to explain even by pictures. I just thought it was the most amazing thing, as far as colors and flowers go!!! And so did Naomi! She was the cutest shouting to her mama everytime she saw a flower "LOOK AT THESE....and LOOK AT THIS ONE!!!! Such great excitement for one of natures beauty! So basically this is a blog about tulips and children among them. So instead of tiptoeing, running or stomping through the tulips, Maia crawled and ate whatever she could get her hands on. Good thing tulips are not a poisonous plant!

Ok for all you purple fans these are for you! I think these were my favorites as far as color was concerned. They were just so rich in their color it was breathtaking!

And our sweetie posing among them!!!

Now these were my favorite as far as size and shape were concerned. I wish I could remember what the names of these were, but they were just huge! I tried to get a photo of Maia's head next to them, but unfortunately she was to squirmy to do so. This is as good as I got at least she was looking up and not eating anything!!! It was fun letting her get good and dirty!

Among those huge tulips are three cute kiddos!

If you look closely at Ebens face you will see that it was all dirty around it. It just cracked me up at those little ones going to town on the dirt!

HEE HEE HEE!!!! They sure don't look too impressed!

And of course one of the two of us!!! We sure do have fun together!

And a beautiful mom with her kids!!!!

Stuck in a shoe and didn't know what to do!

This concludes the tulip festival! Spring is here and summer is on its way luring us in for more adventures! Don't forget to stop and smell the roses! or the tulips in our case!

Maia's Love for Farm Animals

2010-04-22T22:26:00.000-07:00

We have a little farmer girl in the making. About a week ago we went to visit Ginya, Helen and Joanne out on the farm. We try to get out there as often as we can because we have great people to visit and a peaceful place to retreat to from the city.

This was as close to Maia riding a horse, however she did not mind that one bit as long as she got to pet the horse she was content. We found this trip that she loves the animals. She crawled all their sweet lab Dodge and then found the cows to be hilarious.

She even got to feed the calves some grass. Well sorta, I think she tried to feed herself some grass too.

The big old cows were the most exciting. She just loved watching them and trying to get as close to them as she could. Next thing you know it she'll be saying "Daddy can we get a cow?" Hmmm...I'll let him make that decision.

When the weather gets beautiful nothing tops it off by being out in the country. No cars whizzing by all day, not sirens, so loud music from the neighbor, just peacefulness. Maybe Maia is not the only country girl here. I find a piece of me still belongs out in the country!

Easter

2010-04-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

Although Easter has come and gone I still thought I would post some pictures of our Easter here in Portland. We had a great holiday spending the morning at home while Michael worked. Part of that morning consisted of Maia and I getting all dressed in our Easter outfits and taking a few pictures at home. We also spent the morning baking a cake to take over for our dinner at the Huffmans.

We spent Easter over at our friends the Huffmans and our housemates Clint and Merodie joined us. It was nice to spend the holiday with good friends. We had to cancel our Easter egg hunt that David was going to hide the eggs for because it was a rainy Portland day. However, we enjoyed our dinner with one another.

We discovered that giant charging stuffed turtles makes Maia laugh pretty hard. Michael was holding her and Clint was charging the turtle. It was pretty funny to watch and listen to that 7 month old laughter.

Here are the three little friends. We had a great time taking pictures of them as well all dressed in their Easter outfits. Lots of hoot'n and holler'n to get these kids to crack a smile. We got a few goods ones out of it.

Our Happy Easter Celebration cake. After that hard work at getting the kiddos to smile it was time for some cake! It was great to spend Easter with friends in the area. We are so blessed!

I hope you had a Happy Easter and that your hearts were filled with joy through the celebration of our Redeeming Savior!!!

Rhodedendron Garden

2010-03-28T23:56:00.000-07:00

The time has come and the Rhodedenrons are in bloom! On Wednesday the three of us ventured out to the Rhodedendron garden here in Portland. The day was just beautiful, like one of those days where you just want to wear sandals and skirts and let your kid go barefoot. We took advantage of the vitamin D as we strolled along the paths of this beautiful garden. Our little Rhodie enjoyed it too and was happy to be outside in the warm sunshine.

These are a few of the shots I (Jeanette) for the most part took. Enjoy!

I'll just say no one makes Maia laugh like daddy does. Especially while they are practicing their dance moves. I just love how she giggles when he's playing with her. I can't get her to giggle like he does. Yay for daddy!

Our sweet little Rhodie! She just blends right in.

The Baby in the Mirror

2010-03-28T11:42:00.000-07:00

So we have found that Maia's favorite game is to play with the baby in the mirror. Its an easy way to distract her from her woes. We keep putting things on her head to see when she will realize that this actually her and not another baby. However, it cracks us up watching her. So enjoy this video. *disclaimer: this video is pretty long.

Girls Weekend

2010-03-28T10:43:00.001-07:00

Maia and I went on our first road trip together to Coos Bay, Or for the 4Th annual girls weekend. Ever since Marci, Julie and I finished our time at the ranch we have been getting together for a weekend each year. It has been a fun time to reminisce the past, encourage the present, and find excitement for the future. What a blessing it is to have girlfriends!

As we headed toward the coast we swung around Eugene to pick up Julie and the three of us made our way to Marci's. What a beautiful day it was to be on the road and Maia did excellent. Our stop in Eugene was timed perfectly in between Maia's two naps.

So when we arrived we gave hugs to Marci. Well Julie and I did. Marci had not seen Maia since she was about a week old and was surprised by the grip Maia had on her hair. Yes this was somewhat of a posed picture, but Maia really had her hair good. I guess maybe it is Maia's way of saying hello?? This was right outside Marci's place. They live above some store fronts off the 101 in North Bend which is right next to Coos Bay. Maia wore her sailor outfit since we were headed to the Ocean. She was dressed for the occasion you could say!

The Hostel sign indicates where Marci lives. It was a hostel at one point, but the owners turned it into an apartment. It was almost as though we stayed in the Hostel, yet a lot homier that a normal hostel.

Then off to the Ocean we went. It was in the mid 70's when we arrived. A gorgeous day to be on the coast! We hit it just right because in Oregon sometimes these day are hard to come by.

Dead trees!!! I think this was supposed to be a pretrfied tree?? I remember Marci saying something about that, but it could just be a dead tree. I just love the twists and curves they make. Don't get me wrong I do love live trees better than dead ones Anyways, here we are posing in front of it.

In the same park was a garden with tulips and daffodils and other flowers around along with a pond and fountains. So here is Maia among the daffodils. Not the best picture of Maia, but the flowers look beautiful.

"Tiptoe through the tulips through the tulips" Or you could just eat them.

Whoo hoo girls weekend and here are the girls!

On Saturday we went to a small coastal town called Bandon. We had Thai food, tasted goodies at the little shop called Cranberry Sweets and strolled along the boardwalk.

Maia was all tuckered out. So we bundled here all up so she would be warm while she napped.

On Sunday we went to church and then went to a pottery shop where you can paint pottery. So we all painted mugs together! It was a fun activity for us all to enjoy and to take something back with us to remind us of great friendships that we have with one another.

We left the next day(Monday) and headed back to drop Julie off at the airport in Eugene. While in Eugene Maia and I met up with some college friends of mine for lunch. What a fun time of reconnecting!

We had a great weekend! It seemed to short, but doesn't it always? I am just blessed to have friends that encourage me to be a better person! Thanks Marci and Julie for being great friends to share with , to pray with and to laugh with!!!

visit from Auntie Jennie

2010-03-23T21:28:00.000-07:00

We had a spectacular time when Auntie Jennie came to visit us. Not only was it fun for Maia to play with her Auntie, but I really enjoyed having fun with my sister. There is nothing like a bond with a close sister and to have her here for a week and a half . We did a lot and I did not take enough pictures to capture it all.

Here we are posing in front of some moss at Multnomah Falls. I don't know why we are not in front of the falls. Who's to say. But it was nice to be out there anyways.

Let the fun times continue. We also helped Auntie find her wedding dress and some shoes, along with other fun ideas and to put towards her wedding this summer.

I enjoyed watching Maia connect with Jennie. I think there was a time that she was confused about who was mom. As we were walking she was looking at me from the Ergo with a confused look on her face. All of a sudden she just began to cry a very sad cry as though she was unsure who I was. So we stopped and I nursed her and reassured her that I was mom. It was kind of a sad moment, but funny to think that maybe she was a little confused. Luckily that was cleared right up and we went on our merry way.

We also went to Cannon Beach. Although it was sunny out it was also a chilly and windy day out on the beach which equals not happy times for Maia. While Jennie took pictures we got out of the wind. These pictures were taken in a coffee shop in Cannon Beach.

More fun continues!

One of our favorite Portland things is the carts. This particular cart is one that serves only french fries along with different sauces. We also enjoyed to one that serves a variety of Crepes.

Thank you Jennie for spending your Spring Break with us in Portland. We had so much fun and miss you very much!!!!

Maia and the Cats

2010-02-26T22:46:00.000-08:00

These are two very smart cats in keeping their distance from Maia. She loves seeing the cats and gets so excited when they come near her. She even follows them with her eyes where ever they walk. This particular afternoon Maia and I were playing in the hallway and the cats were around us and she was so excited. Soon they won't even be that close because she may be crawling right to them. One day she pulled a dogs fur so hard that the dog yelped, and stayed clear of her. We are not joking about Maia's death grip.

Sunny Sunday

2010-02-26T22:07:00.001-08:00

What do you do on a sunny day in Portland? You make the most of the outdoors. It is amazing how on a sunny warm day people fill the outdoors in parks, on their bikes, walking etc... It's like everyone comes out of hiding when the sun comes out. I guess you learn to appreciate a clear day all the more when it does not happen very often. I include myself in this. Sometimes it can be misleading especially when the sun is out and it is very cold.

However, this sunny Sunday was nice and warm and we decided to spend some of the afternoon on a blanket in our back yard. Maia loves to soak up the Vitamin D as she plays with some of her toys outside.

We even brought our lunch outside and had outselves a little picnic.

We got Maia sunglasses because when she topples over the sun is directly in her eyes and that does not make our little girl happy. However, they do not stay on so unfortunately it defeats the purpose. I will need to get creative and make a little strap to go around her head to keep them on.

So yay for sunshine! Yay for warmth! and Yay for how green our sunny days are because of all the rainy days in between.

Beach Day!

2010-02-18T21:42:00.001-08:00

It has been beautiful weather here in the Portland area and I have been craving the ocean. There is always something refreshing for me at the ocean. And so I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather. Maia and I loaded up the car this morning and headed out. We went to Cannon Beach which is one of my favorite beach towns to visit here on the Oregon Coast. We set up camp and took in the Vitamin D. The sun was so warm and there was not much of a breeze. It made our beach day pleasant. It was fun watching Maia be excited about the waves and the sand. Here are a few pictures of our day out.

Our Response to the Haiti Earthquake

2010-02-14T12:41:00.000-08:00

For what its worth:

We are saddened and praying for the victims and survivors of the Haiti Earthquake. Everywhere we turn, there is a link, a mass mailing, or suggestion for how to give as a response to the earthquakes. We have many generous friends who have given; some through organizations they personally know or have been a part of, others through my work where the company has matched all donations and even allowed it to be taken directly out (pre-tax?) from one's paycheck, others simply by giving to the Red Cross. In fact, I know many, many people I admire who are hands down more generous than we are.

I have mentioned before that natural disasters (tsunami's, floods, earthquakes, famine and the resulting starvation, etc.) actually have enough money given to provide the help that is needed. They are immediate enough and dramatic enough to make the evening news, plus they provide amazing television images, which have the effect of pulling ones heartstrings and motivating one to give even if that person does not regularly give to care for the poor. This is something I learned during training for Hunger Corps with Food for the Hungry in Bangladesh.

But things like chronic, persistent hunger, which aren't so flashy, or showy, or dramatic, do not evoke the needed response even though they kill many more people. How do you accurately capture through a television lens the need of someone who daily takes in fewer calories than he uses? How do you make this slow killer pressing enough, that it can be 'breaking news' on the evening news of a given night of the week?

What to do? If we were to get bitter at the lack of response to these other issues, that would certainly be the wrong response. Additionally, refusing to give to the Haitian relief efforts based on the fact that there are 'other pressing issues' and that plenty of money is being given by everyone else would not be correct. Our response cannot be a justification or rationalization for why we don't have to act.

Instead, what we have done, is used this immediate, pressing, natural disaster as a catapult to get us to act on the long term issues. We have given money, but not to the Haiti relief efforts. Instead, we gave money to fight chronic, persistent, hunger. My hope is that each time one of these disasters strikes, we will choose, like everyone else, to give over and above our regular giving. But that we would use it as a chance to give over and above towards a need that is being neglected by others.

---We realize that this post does not address issues such as waste, assumptions as to what is needed, creating dependency, and enabling vs. serving. The issue is certainly much more complex than 'To Give Money or Not To Give Money', but if we were to share our thoughts (and they are almost entirely thoughts rather than solutions) on all of it, well, you would not read that long and convoluted post.---

Happy Birthday Michael Hike

2010-02-10T15:01:00.000-08:00

"Going on a bear hunt

Going to catch a big one

What a beautiful day

We're not scared"

Oh look a waterfall,

We can't go over it

We can't go under it

We'll have to go through it

Ok so maybe not quite a bear hunt, but we did have a fun adventure out in the gorge. For Michaels birthday he wanted to go for a hike with two of our close family friends, the Leighs and the Huffmans. We did not see any bears, but saw some beautiful waterfalls and green foliage.

This is the first main waterfall we came across. On this trail you can see about 12 waterfalls if you hike the whole way to tunnel falls which is about 12 miles. So yes pretty amazing for sure.

Maia also enjoyed the hike. She just loved being outside. Mostly she just kicks her feet and flaps her arms with utter excitement, and then she gets exhausted and falls asleep in the Ergo. However, this time she gets to be with daddy and that is exciting as well!

This is Punch Bowl falls. Can you see why it's called that?? We have heard that people kayak down this falls. Pretty amazing if they do!

At this falls it was time for snacks!! Naomi and her delicious sandwich!

Maia and Eben are having fun becoming friends.

This is a view of Maia in the Ergo. I want to have a picture of this angle before she begins to ride on my back. This is an image I want to remember!

More beautiful water. This trail is called Eagle Creek trail. At the 12 mile mark it hits the PCT. Maybe one day we will make it that far!

Just around the bend was this waterfall. Just a beautiful view to look at.

This is a view from High Bridge looking down the stream. The water flows in between these huge rock crevices and this picture does not do justice to how amazing it was.

I did not make it to this part since I had a little one to feed, but Michael and a few others went on to this part of the creek and the following waterfall.

This is part of the trail that was pretty crazy. It's just on a cliff edge with a cable fastened into the rock for us to hold on to if need be. So yes kinda scary with kiddos, but we made it. It's pretty incredible how high above the river we are.

Well that ends our adventure. Yea for Michael's birthday and great friends to celebrate with!

Hats

2010-02-07T22:59:00.000-08:00

Maia and her daddy have got theirs on and are ready to do a little show for you!!! So sit back, put on your favorite hat on and enjoy these fun pictures!Hats from the side

Close up with the Elvis lip

Hat tilted to the side

Don't be shy!

hats from below

Hats can make you tired too!!!

So lets hear it for hats!!!!!!!

Sleepy kiddos

2010-02-07T22:46:00.000-08:00

Three kiddos in a row fast asleep. Daphne and I (Jeanette) went to a fabric store with the three kids and it didn't take long on the way home for them to fall fast asleep. Here is just a small glimpse of those cute kids.

I guess it takes a lot of energie for kiddos to bear with their moms at fabric stores, but they handled it pretty well. The great part was just having that time to be with Daphne an adult. I loved it and look forward to more adventures!
Well as I write this I am beginning to feel a little sleepy. So good night!

Roley Poley # 2

2010-02-03T20:43:00.000-08:00

So the latest trick that Maia has been doing is rolling continually in one direction. From her front she rolls to the left and then continues on. So does that mean she rolls to the left or right? Do you judge that from her back or front? This is what Michael and I are trying to figure out. Anyways, she rolls and it is a lot of fun. However, most of the time it is at other people's houses that have carpeted floors and those are the times we don't have our camera...ooops. Well enjoy this video of our roley poley. (Sorry about uncentered filming. I was trying to cover the red light and get Maia's attention at the same time. Not always easy.)

Without further ado...Maia Sage Miller.......(feel free to clap).

Grandma Jo came to visit...

2010-02-03T18:35:00.000-08:00

We got the privilege to have Grandma Jo spend the weekend with us about a week ago. It was the first time Maia got to meet her and I think they hit it off just great! We had a fun and full weekend. We spent some time at home, had a delicious dinner at the Mosers, and a good time visiting the farm. It was so much fun to get to see Grandma Jo and hear stories of a faraway land!

This was before we left to the farm. Notice the matching fleece vests. They know how to stay warm! These are my cooking buddies!!! Maia gets to play with cooking utensils as I cook and this morning daddy decided to join right in when he got home from work.We also climbed to the top of the hill out at the farm. This is the spot where Ginya took a picture of us when we came out to visit about 3 years ago. Those are always fun memories!! Little did we imagine at the time that eventually we would be standing here with our little Maia and Grandma Jo in the same spot!

Yes the giraffe. Maia took a nap cuddling with her new friend. She actually went to sleep this way. I just thought it was pretty cute.

Lots of fun games and songs with Grandma Jo. She was very smart to find Maia a different toy to chew on instead of her fingers. Yes, be careful --Maia could hurt you with her gums.

Grandma, dad, daughter all in a row!

Since this was the first time in a while since Grandma Jo has been in the states on her birthday I thought it would be fun to do a little celebration with her and Michael since their birthdays are only a day apart. So...."Let the wild Rumpus begin"

Ooops maybe a better exposure or a flash would have helped....

There that is better, but I will admit it is a little posed. We enjoyed chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting at 9:30 pm.

Let them eat cake!

Thanks Grandma Jo for coming to visit us up here in Portland. We certainly enjoyed your stay and look forward to your return!!! Also Happy Birthday a few days early!!! Hope it's a good one!

Repentance

2010-02-02T20:44:00.000-08:00

I am sitting in a mostly empty plane coming in to Denver. Jeanette is flying back from Aberdeen with Maia, and I am going to meet her and surprise her, and help with the baby and luggage. I have been thinking lately about sins that are committed over and over again. We all have addictions, or bad habits that we do again and again. Now matter how many times we repent, we end up blowing it again. No matter how many times I feel terrible about it, and resolve to do better, I end up being critical of my wife once again. Or jokingly antagonistic. Or poutingly selfish. Or fill in the blank. I know that when I sin, I need to apologize, ask God for forgiveness, and that He will help me not to do it again. The trouble is, I need this to be genuine, and not just some formulaic incantation I recite so I can get what I want again. When I do a random act of sin it isn't too difficult to feel genuinely sorrowful, to repent, and to genuinely turn away and choose never to do this again. But when it is the same act I've committed over and over again, well, its hard to convince myself that I'm actually repentant when I've been in this same situation for this same sin myriads of times before, repented, then like a dog to my vomit, said the most harshly critical thing to my wife yet again. I'm suspicious of my intention to not sin again. I like sin, and this repentance seems a bit too timely-- I'm confessing again after its all done, yet have not bothered to keep my mouth shut and say nothing when I'm about to criticize.

So here I sit in this plane, thinking. I've been avoiding God, because I know there is something between us that needs to be addressed. I've given in to sin, and it is hard to confess because I don't know how to make it genuine when I've said the same thing thousands of times before and am here needing to do so again. On this plane I have my journal, a waterbottle, and JP Moreland's book "The God Question." I brought nothing else. I brought the book because besides being the best book I read in 2009 (this book is incredible!) I remember that what he said about Confession struck me when I first read it, though I forget what he said. Turning to p168, I re-read:

"For years, I practiced a self-desctructive approach to confession: If you do something wrong, you confess it as soon as you recognize what you did. This cleanses you afresh, and then you can enter into God's presence again." Hmm... this is exactly my approach to confession. I view my sin as separating me from God, and that I cannot get close to Him until I confess it and repent.

Continuing: "This approach has two problems. For one thing, you subtly come to believe that your confession-- for example, how earnest you were this time, how much you really felt sorry, how ready you were to acknowledge it, how well you have done since the last time you confessed something like this-- earns you the right to walk with God again. This is deeply harmful. For another thing, you form the habit of giving a surface treatment of what is causing you to sin and what is going on in your heart. As a result, you are more likely to engage in the sin repeatedly." Moreland has perfectly described how I've been confessing my whole life! When I talk about being genuine, what I mean is that I am trying to feel earnest in my confession... and therefore to earn my 'rightness' with God again. If I am honest, I also do not view sin as being as bad as it is. This is because I know in the back of my mind that I have the 'magical' blood of Christ to make everything good between us. This sounds crass and sacreligious, and it is, but refusing to admit to the view does not make it any less true of me.

And then I come to the true gem of this passage: "By contrast, here is a more helpful approach. When you sin against God and become aware of it, you immediately run to Him and invite Him into your situation. You immediately ask Him to search your heart and show you what is going on in the depths of your soul." He goes on to say you then agree with Him about what you see.

So sitting there on that plane, I invited God into the mess of my bad habits, and I asked Him to show me what was going on in the depths of my soul. I've asked God to help me express what happened next, because I want to get this experience across. All of a sudden, I felt a Presence diving down into me, and baring the depths of my soul. I can't explain how I knew this; there were no thoughts in my head, no words describing to me the little, petty life I was living, just a heaviness pressing in on me. I was all shortness of breath and tears. As I finished my prayer I managed to reach up and turn off my reading light before I was overcome. Then I sat there, plunged in darkness, in a tiny, dark, silent plane looking out my window at the dark earth below. There was noone in my row, nor in the rows around me. And I sat there, hot tears streaming down my face, hands clenched and unclenched, my mouth tightened into the wide grimace of a silent cry, occassionally letting my head fall into my hands, my brow tight and furrowed, breathing heavily, feeling heavy, and feeling Someone inside me, examining me and cleansing me. There, in that darkness, a tiny dot hurtling across the night sky, I discovered and agreed with God about what He found in me. And I finally repented. I was undone. And I felt whole.

Eventually the Searching went away, and instead calmly nestled inside me. And as we descended into Denver, I was nothing but peace.

South Dakota!

2010-01-25T22:05:00.000-08:00

We did it! We finally made it to South Dakota! We have been talking about wanting to go for Christmas this year, but knew that it was impossible. But Jennie (my sister), could not make it either. So we decided to have a late Christmas and go home together at the same time in January. It was great to have fun time spent with our family. Maia certainly enjoyed herself! It was great to be there long enough for her to be comfortable with her Grandpa and Lola along with her Uncle Nick and Auntie Jennie. Lots of smiles and laughter. So here is a "snapshot" or maybe a few snap shots of our time there.

Grandma had a lot of fun playing with little Maia. Often you would hear "tickle tickle" and other games when grandma had Maia. She seemed always content in Grandpa's arms. There were times where she would turn and grab his face with big smiles.

This was the first time that Uncle Nick got to meet Maia and she just loved him right at the beginning. He always knew how to make her smile!

Grandpa, Maia, Gigit and Frank all in a row!

Finally as we were there a heatwave came in and it got above zero. So we went outside to enjoy the snow. I think actually on this day it was even above freezing. I will say even though winters in SD were not my favorite, there is always something nostalgic about being out in the freezing cold that takes me back to my childhood. I just remember making lots of forts, slides, snowmen, angels, and jumps into the high drifts.

Most of the nights were foggy which brought beautiful frostiness to the trees in the mornings.

Manly Michael with his manly mutt, Frank!

Non-stop fun with Uncle Nick.

When Auntie Jennie arrived it was non-stop cuddle time with her. So sweet!

Along with fun times!!!

This was my present to my parents. I had fun making this quilt and even finished it there in SD. I am pretty happy with how it turned out. It is a flannel quilt to keep them warm there in the frozen tundra.

Maia fell asleep with her Lola. It was always sweet to see them together and I know Maia is deeply missed there in SD. Hopefully we can come back soon!!!!!

Christmas!

2009-12-29T20:29:00.001-08:00

"Deck the halls with boughs of holly falalalala...la la la la...'tis the season to be jolly fa la la la la...la la la la..." This is one of the many songs we sang to Maia during the Christmas season along with the more deeper, meaningful songs that resound with the meaning of Christmas. We even sang our rendition of the Messiah, luckily she can't walk to leave the vicinity that we were singing in, but we hope she enjoyed it none-the-less.

Well other than caroling to Maia we began our Christmas by getting a tree. We found a farm that was about 7 miles out in the country and began our hunt for the "perfect" tree to put in our house. Once we found it, Michael did all the work.

He cut it down.Then he drug it to our car.....

He even attached it to the top of the car very securely without any help.

And then Maia and I posed in front of it. Yes we really did work hard. It is a lot of work to get the right pose for the "perfect picture". Oh wait, daddy was the one who worked the hardest and we are so grateful for him!!!!

After a few lights and ornaments...Wahlah....our Christmas tree!!!! We even had a few gifts to go under the tree!! Michael would not let us open any presents unless they were under the tree for a little bit.

On Christmas Eve we attended our church's Christmas Eve service. We all enjoyed the singing of many great Christmas songs-- it helped us focus on Jesus as we entered into Christmas Day. Later on that evening we enjoyed a time of fellowship with Jeff and Farrah's family and feasted on some delicious finger foods that Farrah prepared along with Jeffs delicious ribs!

That night we all three had a slumber party in our living room with the lights of the tree and our gas fireplace. The next morning I made us some cinnamon rolls and Michael made some bacon and we opened our stockings. In Maia's stocking she got a pair of striped stockings. She had to make sure they tasted all right before giving her stamp of approval.

Also from our friend Julie she got a Christmas Tree hat. Nothing says "Merry Christmas" like Maia in her Christmas tree hat!

Daddy and Maia posing in front of our tree! As happy as can be!

As we began to open our presents to one another, Maia decided that it was time for a nap. She just fell asleep. We tried to keep her awake to at least open her gift, but nope, it was not happening. So as she napped Michael and I enjoyed giving and receiving our gifts to each other.

However, Maia did decide to wake up and be a part of the excitement by opening up her gift of soft blocks.

Its a lot of work for a little girl to open up a gift. Especially when she needs to make sure everything tastes ok.

And now the taste test of the blocks!

Later that day we went over to some friends house from our church to have Christmas dinner with them. It was nice to be around a family and enjoy some time of conversations and games with people we enjoy. We did miss being around our family, but we felt blessed to have time as a family unit and the fellowship with others around the area.

Even though this a little late. Hope you had a Merry Christmas!!! We certainly did!! What a great day to celebrate the gift of Jesus!!!!!!!!

Long Beach and Disneyland

2009-12-26T09:57:00.000-08:00

In November Michael had to go to Long Beach, CA for training for two and a half weeks. Maia and I were lucky to go with him for the whole time. We stayed at the hotel with him and hung out there while Michael went to training. It was great to have more time with Michael since he only worked 40 hours a week. He would leave at 6am and then return around 2pm, and then spend the rest of the day with us. We felt so blessed. We had a lot of fun being down there. We spent lots of time with Michael's friends from college, Derek and April and were even able to see other friends Michael knew from when he was down there for school. We also spent some time near the ocean and were able to introduce Maia to the beach. I think she liked it, but mostly she napped while we walked on the pier. However, we did get her to wake up a little so she could enjoy it as well.

The breeze was pretty chilly that day so I think she liked being all close and sheltered from the wind.

We went to a playground with Derek and April and swung next to them.

We also got to spend a morning with Chris and Lorina. It was good to see them and have Maia meet them as well!

Then there was Disneyland. Derek and April knew someone who worked there and he was able to sign us in so we could have some fun there. It was my (Jeanette) first time to be at any Disney park so I was pretty excited about this. I think you could say Maia was too. She definately was into all the stimulation that surrounded her.

Why the "L" you may be thinking. Well when we got to the park we were to meet the guy who works there by the "N", but there was no one there, so we second-guessed ourselves and thought maybe we had said the "L". We saw a couple sitting by the "L" and asked if they were the ones we were supposed to meet. Well they were not them, but they thought maybe we wanted a picture next to the "L". They were pretty insistent on this and we were late to meet our contact at the "N", so instead of fighting it we just posed for them. Thus, our Disneyland family picture is in front of the "L". We like to say its for the double "L's" in Miller or for the single "l" in Michael or Leah. Whatever the case, we have one Disneyland picture with all of us in it and we can chuckle that it is next to a random letter that really has no big significance to us. We did, however, meet the man next to "N".

Into the park we go!

The Castle!!!! Apparently it gets snowed on every night during Christmas. We were able to experience Disneyland snow while we were out there and told Maia that her first snow was in the Los Angeles basin. But then I don't know how much it counts if it was coming out of a snow machine.

We were getting ready to go to Never-never land.

Pinnochio, not quite our favorite, but it's a cute picture with Daddy.

Its a Small World was Maia's favorite. She had fun checking everything out. I thought it was a little over stimulating myself, but Maia was sure enjoying it

We ran into Goofy

Visited Mickey in his house.

With so much going on, Maia did not sleep until after the parade which ended at 7pm. However, once she fell asleep she was out for the rest of the evening. So Michael and I watched some shows, took her on more rides, and enjoyed the rest of our evening until the park closed at midnight.

We had a wonderful time in Southern California, but by the end, we were ready to be back in Portland to begin our Christmas preparations.

Day of Giving Thanks!

2009-12-11T09:32:00.000-08:00

This is long over due, but I wanted to get caught up on the events of our lives since we have been doing quite a bit the past two months. We were able to go to Grass Valley to spend Thanksgiving. It was so nice to see family! We were able to stop by CEM to pay a visit and show Maia the place and meet some of the people that are very dear to us.

Later we headed up to Trace, Holly, Jack and Carolines place, where we were staying, to feast on some Thanksgiving deliciousness! Maia is posing in front of the turkey to show that it is her first Thanksgiving. Maybe next year we will be able to reuse this bib and have it say "My First Thanksgiving That I Can Eat the Food."

Holly made a delicious Cranberry sauce!!! Next to her is the prime rib that we feasted on.

And Becky made some wonderful Croissants.

Here is the Beautiful Turkey that Trace prepared along with prime rib and all the other fixings!

We had a great time eating with one another. We are so thankful that we were able to come to Grass Valley and spend that time with people we love!!!

Roley poley

2009-12-03T23:32:00.000-08:00

I caught some footage on the little girl rolling over. It was hard to do because everytime I would pull out the camera she would not roll over - silly girl. Daddy has not even seen her doing it other than the footage I took. Rolling over, however, is not exactly Maia's latest trick. Lately she has been doing a little "talking" lots of oooohs to be exact. For now, enjoy these fun videos of Maia rolling around!

MEKO

2009-11-21T13:08:00.000-08:00

I thought I would post about something different than our little ball of sunshine and write a little about our little ball of greyness. Yes our shy cat Meko. Ever since Maia came along she has been in the shadows. For being a skiddish kitty she has adjusted well to the many transitions she has had to face. First we moved her into a big house, then we added to more people to live in the house as well, well then Maia came, and the last was a new kitten as the newest addition. So for a skiddish kitty she has done well! She is attentive to Maia. When ever she cries Meko likes to come around to check things out usually at a distance. There are times when Maia is fussy or gassy and I walk her around the house, Meko often follows behind - like a parade. I think she is slowly getting used to the kitten although there are times where I think she gets a little fed up and lets that kitten know it. So I am happy to say that I am proud of Meko. She's a great cat and has put up with a lot in her three years of living with me.